Fashion Design

As the daughter of one of the five Fendi sisters of the famed Italian brand, Ilaria Venturini Fendi found herself designing in the family firm but not feeling fulfilled. After leaving haute fashion for a life on an organic, sustainable farm near Rome, she felt the pull back to fashion design after a couple of years - but with an unconventional twist. She still has the farm, and in fashion she now specializes in upcycling - the repurposing of old or discarded objects into new, higher-valued items.

London-born fashion designer Ozwald Boateng was made for cameras: his sleek frame, piercing good looks and vibrant personality make him his own best model for the dashingly colorful and classically cut mens' wear that has earned him his haute-couture status. It's not surprising, then, that Varon Bonicos' documentary "A Man's Story" - filmed over a period of 12 years - feeds off Boateng's energetic, charming manner as he darts around the globe putting on multimedia fashion shows, extending his brand and obsessing about work to the detriment of his marriage to the beautiful Russian model who bore his two children.

No matter what one thought of Thursday's vice presidential debate, it's clear that Paul Ryan can bring it when it comes to staying physically fit. And Time magazine plans to feature a 2011 picture of Ryan in its Oct. 22 issue, lifting weights and wearing a determined look on his face (along with a too-cute backward baseball cap). [Time] France awarded iconic designer Valentino Garavani the Commandeur de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres medal in a ceremony on Wednesday. He has been honored previously with France's Légion d'Honneur and Grand Médaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris.

Music star and fashion design aspirant Kanye West reportedly will not show a collection during Paris Fashion Week because his last two offerings were not well-received by critics. [WWD] When Allison Williams of HBO's "Girls" strolled the Emmy's red carpet in an emerald Oscar de la Renta on Sunday, it was the culmination of a year of preparation, with stylist Christina Ehrlich, for her big-time fashion debut. [WWD] Sophia Vergara wore a slinky Zuhair Murad dress on the Emmys' red carpet, but she suffered a wardrobe malfunction when the zipper burst, leaving more of her backside exposed than expected.

The meat dress Lady Gaga wore to the MTV Video Music Awards in 2010 has been dried, preserved and painted to look like it's original raw hue (kind of sounds like jerky), and now it's part of a traveling exhibition of artifacts on display as part of the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power" tour. Items representing 70 rock divas are included. The exhibit is to be on view in Washington through Jan. 6, and then will move on to Omaha, Seattle and Phoenix.

Singer Christina Milian and actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler were on hand last week for the West Coast opening of C. Wonder at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. The new store from entrepreneur Christopher Burch (designer Tory Burch's ex-husband) offers customers affordable lifestyle products including women's apparel and accessories, home decor and personal electronics. The average price of C. Wonder products is under $40. The store is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

ROME - If French fashion designer Pierre Cardin gets his wish, construction could soon begin in Venice on a futuristic glass and metal building that at nearly 800 feet tall would dwarf the iconic bell tower and domes of St. Mark's Square. Cardin, who turned 90 in July, wants to honor his birthplace, San Biagio di Callalta, a small town close to Venice, with what may be his last big project. He has promised to raise the estimated $2.4 billion to build the proposed Palais Lumiere, or Light Palace - a three-sectioned illuminated tower - and is reportedly seeking investors.

Fashion designer Alicia Estrada has gone from selling homemade dresses at rockabilly concerts and car shows to running a booming clothing line. After running Stop Staring for 14 years, she wants to expand at a time when the economy is making it hard for entrepreneurs to succeed and banks aren't lending like they used to. She's now getting help from an unlikely source: Wall Street. UBS, Switzerland's biggest bank, put her in a program that matches small-business owners with financial advisors and business experts.

When a perfect 10 isn't enough, there's EleVen. That's the name of tennis pro and sports style icon Venus Williams' new "tennis lifestyle brand," with its dresses, tops and bottoms designed to be worn on and off the court. Williams, 32, is the winner of 21 Grand Slam titles and three Olympic gold medals and has been ranked No 1 in the world several times since she entered pro tennis in 1994 at age 14. This summer, she's headed back to the Olympics in London, where no doubt her outfits, as well as her game, will make headlines.

This post has been updated. See below for details . Art continues to be very fashionable. In the wake of recent exhibitions that included last year's Rodarte show at LACMA and the late Alexander McQueen at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, another fashion designer has received honors from the fine art world. New York City's Museo del Barrio declared designer Narciso Rodriguez one of the "25 most influential Hispanics in America" in an announcment that it will be honoring the Cuban American next month during its annual gala.